Charles Clarke: If Gordon Brown asked me to play a role in government, of course I would

Former home secretary Charles Clarke tells the Telegraph why he regrets
the 'intemperate' language he used about Gordon Brown, and that he'd like to
return to the front benches.

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Charles Clarke: admits he was poised to challenge Gordon Brown for the leadershipPhoto: CLARA MOLDEN

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Charles Clarke and Gordon Brown in 2003Photo: CHRIS YOUNG

By Mary Riddell

7:00AM GMT 04 Feb 2009

Charles Clarke is sorry. While the Prime Minister famously steers clear of mea culpas, the man who once looked like his potential assassin has no such qualms. Last year, the former Home Secretary expressed despair over the Labour leadership. Now he has changed his mind.

"We go back a very long way, Gordon and I," he says. "I like and respect him. But we've had a lot of disagreements about the way politics should be done." No such fondness was detectable in Mr Clarke's denunciation of a "deluded control freak", or in his later critique of his leader's "dog-whistle politics".

"I did say that. But I felt after party conference – in fact almost during it – that Gordon played an absolutely outstanding role in terms of the economic situation we faced." So far, so conciliatory. But Mr Clarke goes further. He was, as he admits publicly for the first time, poised to run for the leadership.

"I might have done. I would have been ready to put myself forward in principle, but I'd said so many things which were [unfortunate]. I criticise myself for it. I used language unwisely. I was too sharp in the words I used about Gordon. People felt, and I do understand why, that style wasn't appropriate.

"I've always seen myself as a more inclusive politician than that. I defined myself as sharper and more personal, and I do regret that." Do any specific denigrations of Mr Brown, such as the word "hopeless", spring to mind? "Not a particular phrase, no; but I felt my language was intemperate."

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He concedes now that his tactics derailed any chance he might have had of becoming leader. "I doubt if I'd have got the nominations to run if there had been a vacancy, and my guess is that's still the case. But that wasn't my point. We needed the best set of circumstances to maximise our performance in the next election, and that was why I was raising the debates."

This is quite a climbdown for any senior politician, let alone a beast as big as Mr Clarke. A veteran of Education, as well as the Home Office, he is one of his party's broadest thinkers.While there is nothing abject in his recantation, his motive may go further than his genuine contrition.

Other big beasts – not least his Tory namesake, Ken – are back on the front benches, and Mr Clarke is eager to join them. He is, it seems, the political equivalent of Yosser Hughes, who uttered the catchphrase "Gissa Job" in the TV drama Boys From The Blackstuff. Mr Clarke even has specific posts in mind. When I ask him for his dream position, he says: "I'd love to do transport, or anything around the environment."

It is no secret that Mr Brown offered (or half-offered) him several key jobs, probably including Governor General of Basra, but not the ministerial perch for which he hoped. That rebuff remains Mr Clarke's "only frustration".

"I was talking about a role in government, and that remains the case. He's perfectly entitled to say there isn't a role for me, which I respect completely." Have they spoken recently? "Not really. We chatted in passing in a corridor, but very briefly. I've talked to some of the people round him, but Gordon and I haven't had a serious talk this year."

Still, he clearly lives in hope of a comeback. "Of course, 100 per cent. If he [Brown] were to ask me to play a role in government, of course I would." Mr Clarke's bullish belief in a Labour victory ("Of course the Government can climb back again") would be an asset to Mr Brown, as would his grasp of the big picture.

In Mr Clarke's view, the party that exploits great change will win next time. "The grand story is very clear. Thirty years of Thatcher/Reagan, tempered by Clinton/Blair, are over. What are we saying for the future?" Mr Clarke's message may not chime entirely with the Brown orthodoxy. New Labour has, he says, put big issues, such as constitutional reform, in the "too-difficult" box.

The Lords cash-for-laws allegations are, in his view, linked to ducking major constitutional changes, including a largely elected House of Lords and an overhaul of party funding. (He wants to limit "ridiculous" campaign spending, encourage individual donations and stop the unions' block contribution.) "Labour has seriously missed the chance for [funding] reform. We have a little squib of a Bill coming to the Commons on Monday, which touches on no core issues – a mouse of a Bill."

On changes in the pipeline, he is equally scathing. Mr Brown's idea of a British Bill of Rights has "no value or substance at all". As a believer in jailing fewer non-dangerous people, he excoriates Jack Straw's plans for super-sized jails. "Ideas like Titan prisons are utterly, utterly foolish," he says. The green agenda also worries him. "There just has to be a sustainable solution to the world. I don't think we're doing the right thing on Heathrow.

"You wouldn't want to vote for a Tory amendment," he adds, referring to the narrow government win on Heathrow expansion. "But Parliament should be deciding on this. Neither Tony [Blair] nor Gordon has green at the core of their being, and that's necessary." He agrees that "neither the Titan prisons nor the third runway will be built. Another runway at Heathrow needs consensus, and that consensus simply isn't there."

It is clear from all this that – were Mr Brown to do as rumours have hinted and end Mr Clarke's exile – he might find him less than biddable. On the plus side, Mr Clarke is one of the few bold thinkers who might yet help form a vision for a fourth Labour term. A believer in fixed-term parliaments, he has even saved Mr Brown the trouble of choosing his own poll date: the Clarke tip is May 6 next year.

It cannot be easy for such a forthright character to binge on humble pie, especially since he can have no way of knowing if his apology will be rebuffed. "I'm absolutely sincere that the way Gordon handled the economy last October and November was exemplary," he says. "But he still has to do other things."

Will reinstating Mr Clarke be among them? "It's good that people like Peter Mandelson and Alan Milburn are working with him. I can't say much more. That question is not a matter for me. Gordon has to decide if he wants to make anything happen."

Which concludes the most public job application submitted in modern political history. Over to Mr Brown.